Trust A Woman
by Mando'ade
Summary: A short drabble from the point of view of a nameless combattant of the Siege of the North.


I'm not going to pretend I'm pleased with how this turned out, because I'm not. It was meant to be a great deal more than it turned out to be. More what, you ask? Who knows, but I wanted more of it.

Anyway... It serves its purpose, giving a voice to some nameless waterbender from the Northern Water Tribe. As usual, enjoy, and I would really appreciate some feedback.

* * *

If you live your entire life being told one thing, remaining convinced of it being the absolute, incontrovertible truth, it's difficult to ever be disabused of the notion. She'd been convinced, they all had, that these laws, these traditions, were the only way it was done. Women simply didn't learn to waterbend offensively. It wasn't done. But in the midst of the battle, with fathers, brothers and friends rushing past her in a flood of defensive bending as the women clutched at their children, hidden in their homes, she had wondered what her role could be in this.

And now, backed into a corner by three faceless firebenders, she wondered what use her healing training was going to be, even as she instinctively raised her arms in a defensive stance. She, like every other girl in the tribe, had gathered to watch the Southern Waterbending woman and the Avatar take Master Pakku's classes for the past few weeks. No other girl had dared stand with them, or even imply a desire to learn, but she knew it had galled them, just as it did her, that the first girl to ever be permitted to learn offensive bending was some sister tribe tourist.

She desperately whipped another crude wall of water around herself, only fending off the inevitable burning flames for a short time. Her control over her element was waning, for reasons she could only guess at. After all, the moon was high in the sky and showed no sign of fading. Luckily, without the sun at their disposal, these firebenders continued to be weaker than her. But defence was not going to win this fight. One of the men (she presumed they were men, but the faceplates on their helmets left much to the imagination. Perhaps women were permitted to fight in the Fire Nation?) set off a slew of attacks through a complicated kata, which she narrowly avoided with an inelegant dive to the ground. Grasping at what little she remembered from watching the Southern Tribe girl train, she whipped her arm backwards and back to him, knocking him down with an imperfect, but apparently serviceable, water-whip. She glanced at her remaining opponents. Perhaps this wouldn't be so hard. She was already gaining.

Then the lights went out. Or rather, the Light. The moon, in all her shimmering, glowing beauty, was simply gone from one moment to the next, leaving in place of her empowering illumination a sickening blood red light. Everything stopped as all the combatants looked up in an identical moment of confusion. Then a cheer went up and the firebenders knew they had won. She looked down. One of the soldier's hands ignited and she didn't avoid the blast that spelled her death. If the moon was gone, how could they hope to win? The fire hit her, square in the chest. She had the absurd sensation of being warm for the very first time before the pain caught up. The firebenders ran past her, perhaps spying another prey. She could hardly care, falling to her knees and letting the pain wash over her.

_Master Pakku has killed us all_ she thought with dwindling consciousness. She hit the ground, cheek pressed against the snow. She couldn't feel the cold. Her limbs refused to respond, even as she heard the screams of her fellow tribesmen and knew she should help, she ought to help. She couldn't get up. She lay there, caught between life and death, barely conscious, watching the red tinted world and listening to those she knew and loved dying. _Master Pakku killed us_ the thought ran through her thoughts, endlessly looping.

Then light returned to the world. She struggled with all her might to turn her neck and look to the sky. The moon.

"Yue." She whispered, hardly knowing why, but knowing it was right. The moon seemed to smile and the screams faded from her ears. She smiled back. Trust a woman to save them all.


End file.
